


Wildwood

by mentalfiction



Category: One Direction
Genre: American Gemma, American Harry, Artist Louis, Beaches, Boardwalks, Cute, Fluff, M/M, New Jersey, One Shot, Short, henna tattoos, its actually rly cute pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 20:35:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20020630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mentalfiction/pseuds/mentalfiction
Summary: Harry goes to the shore with Gemma. He seeks a kiosk on the boardwalk while walking with his sister that offers henna tattoos. That’s where it all begins on a sunny Jersey shore day,Or Harry and Louis have a weekend plus a few days to get to discover each other in Wildwood.





	Wildwood

**Author's Note:**

> hi this is like cute and short lmao. i kinda messed up and meant to be mostly in past tense and the ending was supposed to be in present but i guess its aight either way.  
> this is based on a real event when i went to wildwood when i was 12 and this irishman gave me a lion henna tattoo and we talked and he was really cool(i did not have a crush hahaha i was 12)
> 
> p.s you all know me, i forgot proofread

“Harry, for christ’s sake- put sunscreen on! I don’t feel like staying up all night hearing you complain about your second degree sunburn.”

Harry rolls his eyes “Gemma, news flash. I’m an adult, if I get second degree sunburn therefore it is my fault,” he replies as he basks in the bright New Jersey sunlight as a lizard would.

Gemma scoffs, picking up a handful of grains of sand and throws it into Harry’s face, Harry coughing as some sand gets into his mouth, “Are you out of your goddamn mind? I got asthma!”

She laughs and pokes his ribs, “I’m going in the ocean. Come with me if you’re bored,” and she runs off into the cold ocean.

Harry continues with his scorching sun tan for a little while longer then joins Gemma in the ocean, sneaking up behind her and grabbing her by the ankle. He receives a kick in the face, causing him to fall face first into the water, the salt water burning his nasal passages.

After a while of being dorks in the water, Harry and Gemma go back to their spot and dry off their bodies, taking their time to pack their stuff. They make their way back to the boardwalk and aboard the Tram car to get back to their hotel.

Once they get back, they change into a fresh new pair of clothes. Harry is checking out his new tan while Gemma is frantically rubbing aloe all over her skin.

“I love how you told me to put sunscreen on yet you didn’t and you got burnt,” Harry laughs and slips on a pair of long socks and slip-on vans. Gemma rolls her eyes and they make their way out of the hotel back onto the boardwalk.

They discover some cool little shops, buying some t-shirts and mugs. Then they start to get a bit hungry and order pizza which took a while because some drunk guy their had a fit and started beating up the Tram car, so once they got their pizza and Harry got his vanilla ice cream cone, they continue their walk on the boardwalk.

“Hey, Gems! Look at this! Henna tattoos!” Harry calls, pointing at a little shop that has some people on it getting designs on their skin with Henna ink. Gemma walks over and stands beside Harry, “Wanna get matching ones?”

Harry nods giddily and they walk inside, looking at the huge poster on the panelled walls with design ideas on them. They eventually find what they want and look around for an associate.

“Have you found anything you like?”

Harry and Gemma turn around at the sound of a soft voice to a young man who is wearing a cap, placing a bit of shade over their face and fluffy, caramel brown hair peaks out from the cap. His skin is a golden, honey tan and goes well with his attire, consisting of a band tee with tour dates on the back, light blue jean shorts that went down a little further than his knees and were a bit loose, then was topped off with white socks that came up to his lower calves and those white trendy FILA shoes, to which Harry had thought they looked dinostompers but he thinks that they look cute on the guy’s small frame.

Harry snaps out of his trance when Gemma whacks him on the shoulder, quickly straightening up his posture, “Uhm, yeah. Yeah, we did.”

The man smiles, “Alright, I’ll take you and she can go with him over there,” he gestures Gemma toward another guy by one of the counters who was talking to a costumer. 

“Good luck, little bro,” Gemma smirks and ruffles Harry’s short, wavy hair and walks off. Harry blushes and follows the guy, who he had just realized had a accent.

“Just sit right there for me, yeah?” Harry’s knees buckled at the fact that this guy, this really cute, handsome dude with an accent just told him to do something. He nods and sits down on one of the stools.

The man grabs his supplies and slips on a pair of black rubber gloves, “What design did you pick and where would you like it?” He asks.

“I, um, I wanted to get that lion over there on my hand, please,” Harry asks politely, blushing as the man wiped an alchohol pad across the delicate skin of his hand, making sure it was clean.

Dinostomper Shoes Guy nods, Harry thought of that nickname just moments ago, and smiles, “Good choice! Alright, now let’s get started, yeah?” He grabs the henna ink and begins drawing the design on Harry’s hand.

It’s silent for a few moments until Harry speaks up, “I really like your accent, where are you from?” He asks, then Dinostomper Shoes Guy responds, “England, up in the north. And you’re from New Jersey, I’m guessing?” 

Harry smiles, dimples popping out, and nods, “Yeah, yeah, about three hours from here up north, kinda close to Manhattan in New York. My sister over there and I always come up here during Fourth of July weekend.”

“That’s cool! I really like it here so far. I moved to the U.S like, three months ago and there’s a lot of stuff to do here,” Harry can feel Dinostomper Shoes Guys’ warm breath on his hand as speaks while concentrating on the lion he was inking, “What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Harry,” Harry responds, “What’s yours.”

“Louis, spelled L-O-U-I-S. People tend to spell it as L-E-W-I-S or L-O-U-I-E sometimes but I kinda need to deal with it,” Dinostomper Shoes Guys, now identified as Louis, replies, placing his other hand on Harry’s arm to hold it in place and Harry blushes, yet again, at the contact.

“I like that name. I kinda thought you were like, a Willie or something,” Harry giggled and he could’ve swore he saw Louis’ eyes light up at the sound but maybe it was just an imagination.

“I mean, my middle name is William which I guess is similar to Willie, so you’re kinda on the right track,” Louis chuckles, “Alright! Your lion is finished. Let it dry and once it hardens, just wash it off and it’ll look great!”

Harry looks at the lion on his hand and smiles, “This is really nice, thank you, Louis!”

Gemma comes over to Harry seconds later and shows him her wolf tattoo, “This is so cool! The dude gave me his number too,” she winks over at the guy and Harry rolls his eyes.

“How much will this be?” Harry asks, about to reach into his wallet but Louis stops him by placing his now bare hand onto Harry’s arm, it feeling warm against Harry’s skin, “No worries! You were quite nice and this will be all on me.”

“O-Oh, well are you su-“

“Of course! It was nice having a conversation with you Harry,” Louis smiles wide, outer corners by his eyes crinkling.

Harry smiles and nods, “Thank you so much, um, will you be here tomorrow?”

“I’ll kinda be here for the whole summer. If you want to come on down here tomorrow and talk, I’d be up for it,” Louis takes off his cap, revealing a soft fringe and brushes his hair back with his fingers, putting his cap back on.

Harry nods almost frantically, smilling wide, “Yes!” He realizes how desperate he sounds and toned it down a bit, “Yes, um, I’d love that. Have a good night and see you tomorrow, Louis!” He waves as he and Gemma walk away from the little shop, Louis smiling and waving back.

“Holy shit, I can already tell you’re interested in him, don’t deny it,” Gemma sas once they had walked away from the shop. Harry blushes for the umpteenth time that day and gulps, “I mean, he’s really nice and cute.”

Gemma laughs and slings her arm around her taller brother’s shoulders as they walk back to their hotel to go in the indoor waterpark.

The next day came and Harry and Louis met again at the shop Louis works at, sharing information about themselves and getting to know each other more as Louis was on break. They also got a bite to eat at the little restuarant a few blocks down, laughing and joking with each other as they ate.

Harry had giggled, but then covered his mouth from how obnoxious he thought it was. Louis had smiled while furrowing his eyebrows,

“Don’t cover your giggles, love. They’re cute,” and Harry had blushed harder than he ever did before in his life.

So now, Harry was now back in the hotel with Gemma, both sitting down on the couch as they watch some random TV show.

“How was your little day with Louis?”

Harry looks down as he fiddles with a strand of hair, “He, um, called me ‘love’. It made me feel really giddy and blushy inside and-Gems, I think I like him already,” he curls his sock covered toes.

Gemma smiles fondly, “Why don’t you ask for his number? We’re leaving in a few days.”

Harry shrugs, “I don’t know. Kinda shy.”

“You won’t see him again if you don’t ask him, Harry,” Gemma pressured.

Harry sighs, “Alright, alright. I’ll ask him tomorrow. Goodnight, I’m tired.”

The next day, Harry finds him standing crookedly in front of the shop Louis worked at, spotting the older boy over in the corner talking to another worker.

Louis sees Harry, taking a double glance, then smiles, walking over to him while taking long but fast steps. Harry already feels all excited but nervous, his feet pointing inwards.

“Hi, Harry, how are you?” Louis asks, taking Harry’s hand in his, clasping his other hand on top so now he’s holding Harry’s hand in both of his own hands. Harry gulps at the contact,

“So, I’m leaving tomorrow morning to go back home, and, um,” Harry scratches the back of his head, anticipation building up in his words—

“Louis! Can you take this customer?”

“Oh, um, I have to go. I’ll catch up with you later, okay, darling?” Louis smiles apolegetically and walks over to an awaiting customer. Harry looks down at the ground sadly and walks back to the hotel.

“How did it go?” Gemma asks as Harry walks back into the hotel room, looking mopey as ever.

“He had to do something and I didn’t finish my sentence,” he pouts, sinking into the couch cushions. The couch cushions even look sad.

Gemma sighs, “Aw, Haz. We still have hours before the day ends and then we leave tomorrow, why don’t you ask him tonight?” She suggests.

Harry shakes his head, “It’s alright. I don’t think he was interested in me anyways,”

“Are you sure? I thought he was,” Gemma raises her brows in slight disbelief.

Harry nods, “Yeah.”

“Well, you can always change your mind, your choice, alright?” Gemma reassures, patting Harry on the shoulder.

Harry didn’t go back to Louis that night. He had given up and sulked on the comfy hotel bed until it had become midnight, falling asleep with Louis on his mind.

It was now the next morning and Harry and Gemma have their bags packed and have already checked out of the hotel. They walk the short distance to the parking lot and found their car, beginning to load their bags into the back.

Harry jolts up when he hears a distant ‘Harry!’ Being called and he turns to the far voice, eyes widening when he sees Louis running over to them in his big FILA shoes.

Louis continues to yell his name, his calls sounding closer and closer as he became inches away from Harry.

“Harry! Har-Shit!” He trips over his own feet and lands right in front of Harry’s, landing right onto his chest with an ‘oof’ as the wind is knocked out of him. Harry gasps and kneels down to help Louis off the ground.

Louis wipes the little dust and rocks from the knees of his Adidas joggers and takes a few breaths, “Harry, I-I forgot to give you something before you left.”

Harry nods, unable to come up with words to respond. Louis hands him a blue sticky note and Harry reads it, looking at the set of numbers written across.

“Here’s my number to keep in touch. I really like you even if it’s been a few days and I want to be able to visit you when I’m off, yeah?” Louis says sheepishly, messing with the hair on the back of his neck.

The corners of Harry’s plump lips curl up into a large smile. He wraps his long arms around Louis’ body and hugs him tight, burying his face into the crook of his neck.

Louis hugs back and once they pull away, he leaves a soft peck on the corner of Harry’s lips as a goodbye, Harry’s cheeks blossoming in return. Saying their farewells, they long to see each other real soon.

They never knew that in a span of a year that Louis would visit Harry after a month of last meeting, going on first dates and spending time together, both innocent and intimate, introducing each other to their families once Louis’ family visited the U.S, and eventually move in together in a cute, luxury apartment due to that one summer in Wildwood. Thanks, Wildwood.


End file.
